Voting-booth



(No Model.)

I. D. VANDECAR.

VOTING BOOTH.

No. 475,641. Patented May 24, 1892.

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ISRAEL D. VANDECAR, OF STOOKTON, CALIFORNIA.

VOTING-BOOTH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 475,641, dated May 24, 1892.

Application filed February 26, 1892. Serial No. 422.934. (No model.)

.T0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ISRAEL D. VANDECAR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Stockton, San Joaquin county, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Voting- Booths; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to an improved votin gbooth.

It consists in certain details of construction, which will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in whicl1 Figure l is a perspective View of my invention with portions of the canvas torn away to exhibit the construction. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the frame, showing the manner of fastening the separate pieces.

Under the system known as the Australian ballot system, which has been adopted in many of the States of the Union, it is requisite that the voter have a booth or compartment to which he may retire for the purpose of preparing his ballot in secrecy.

The object of my invention is to provide such booths in a form which will render them easily portable in the smallest possible space and readily setup at the points where they are to be used. This is important, because in thinly-settled districts it is often necessary to carry the paraphernalia for election purposes to distant precincts, often over rough roads, and in any event it is desirable to have the apparatus safely stored and packed away when not in use.

A is a box or desk having a hinged cover B, and this desk is provided with legs C, which are fitted into sockets made in the bottom timbers of the desk, so that the legs may be easily slipped into these sockets. The legs should properly be spread orbraced apart, so as to steady the superstructure of the apparatus and prevent its being easily overturned. If desired, the lower ends of the legs may be provided with feet having holes through them, through which nails or screws may be passed to secure them to the floor of the room in which the booth is used. In each of the four corners of the top, out-side the cover (which is somewhat shorter than the length of the box, as shown,) holes are made for the receptior of the upright standards E.

F F are like angle-iron bars, three of which are pivoted together at their meeting angles, so that they may be folded upon each other when not in use. Vhen unfolded, a fourth bar F', made of similar material, is united with them, so as to form a square which is supported upon the uprights E. For this purpose the bars have holes made in them corresponding with the uprights, and the latter may have collars just below their upper ends, so that when the bars F F. are fitted upon the upper ends of these uprights they will rest upon these collars and not slip down too far.

G G are braces pivoted to the side bars F and having pins in their opposite ends, which will enter corresponding holes in the bar F', so that. these braces G, extending diagonally from the sides Fto the transverse bar F', will rigidly brace these parts together and prevent their twisting out of position.

H is a cover,which maybe made of canvas or other iiexible easily-folded material. It is adapted to t around the sides of the top of the booth, to which it may be attached by hooks or by having holes worked in the upper edge, which will slip over the projecting upper ends of the posts E and thus retain it in place. The front edges of lthe cover drop naturally together as the cover hangs from the top, and this allows a person to easily enter or pass out of the booth. The cover is long enough to protect the upper portion of the booth from the inspection of any person outside of it.

The desk serves to hold all the paraphernalia necessary for the voter-such as pencil, stamp, or other articles--while the election is being carried on. When the work has ceased, the cover is lirst removed and folded up, so as to iit into the box A. The top frames are then removed and folded together, their length being such that they can be laid within the box. The uprights E are then removed from the corners of the desk and laid within the box, and, lastly, the legs are taken out and also laid Within the box, which may then be closed and locked, and the whole apparatus is in convenient shape for removal and storage.

IOO

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A voting-booth consisting of a desk, re-

5 movable legs fitted into the bottom of the desk, removable uprights iitted into the upper corners thereof,a frame consisting of the folding angle-iron plates F F', fitting the upper ends of the uprights, and a cover adapted 1o to surround and inclose the structure, substantially as herein described.

2. A voting-booth consisting of a desk having the hinged cover made shorter than the length of the desk, removable legs fitted into i5 the lower corners of the desk, removable standardstting the upper cor-ners of the ISRAEL D. VANDECAR.

Witnsses:

S. I-I. NoURsE, J. ABAYLEss. 

